Dr. BBQ’s Upside Down Chili

From the Big Green Egg Website

“What’s an Upside Down Chili” you’re probably asking yourself. It’s only Dr. BBQ’s most brilliant idea ever! You simultaneously smoke the meat, cook the rest of the chili, and add flavor to the chili all at the same time. I’ve nothing else to say. Read on!

EGGcessories Needed

ConvEGGtor

Dutch Oven

Ingredients

• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 1 large green pepper, seeded and chopped
• 2 jalapenos, finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 quart beef broth
• 1 cup Big Green Egg Vidalia Onion Sriracha Barbecue Sauce
• ⅓ cup chili powder
• 2 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 3 lbs coarse ground beef, formed into a large patty
• 2 15-oz can of dark kidney beans, drained

Directions

Set the EGG for direct cooking at 350° F. Preheat an uncovered Dutch oven.

Prep all your ingredients (chop, open cans, etc.)

Add the oil for a few seconds to heat.

Add the onion and green pepper and cook until soft.

Don’t make the same mistake I made when cooking this recipe. I left the dome open while I was cooking the vegetables, broth, and such because there weren’t any times listed for how long to cook. I didn’t want the vegetables to burn so I wanted to keep an eye on them as they cooked.

By the time I was adding the tomatoes the flames had grown so strong that the heat on my hands and arms were insanely hot every time I went to add a new ingredient. I was dumping the ingredients into the dutch oven as fast as I could and stirring as fast as I could to keep from burning myself.

Next time I’m closing the lid between steps and checking the progress every 2 to 3 minutes.

Add the garlic and jalapenos and cook a few more minutes.

Next add the tomatoes, broth, barbecue sauce, chili powder, cumin, brown sugar, and pepper. Mix well and bring to a simmer.

Because of my “dome open” fiasco, this came to a simmer in a matter of seconds!

Carefully remove the Dutch oven and the cooking grid.

Another “oopsy” here. I put the cooking grid on top of an oven mitt and a table pad and look what I did. I’m lucky that I didn’t set the table on fire! 🙂 Next time I’ll put the grid on my baking stone.

Add two small chunks of apple wood to the charcoal.

Insert the convEGGtor (for indirect cooking), replace the cooking grid and the Dutch oven and continue cooking at 350°F.

Season the ground beef patty with salt and pepper. Place a perforated cooking grid on top of the Dutch oven, then place the ground beef patty on the grid. Cook for 90 minutes.

Remove the grid with the meat to a sheet pan. Add the beans and a bit more water if needed.

Break the meat up with tongs and place it in the pot. Cook for another 30 minutes until everything is well blended and slightly thickened.

Check out the color of the dutch oven in that picture. It’s olive green! Don’t freak out if that happens. That’s from the smoke. It washed right off.